THE JEWISH ENlVl
America
first steps were taken towiinl the I'oriniilion of i Jewish Kefonn iissdciatioii, whieli resiilleil ih thees-
of the Sinai ('iinirri'iialinn Since thai time llie iriowlh of till- Jiwish eoininunily there has l)een in every way proportionate to the growtli of the city itself, whieh. Ihoiijirh not yet TO years old, is in point of population the seeond eity in the Unileti Fifty conjirefiations are known to e.xist States. and there are no dotibt many smaller ones whose names have not yet heen ascertained. 'I'hi' Jewish eoinin unity of Chieajro has many notable educational establishments and hospitals, and has furnished (listinjruished members of the lejral profession, areliiAmon";: its lu-oniiiu'iit rabbis lects. and musicians. Liebniann Adler, H. Felsenlhal. and Kniil (}. Ilirscl: may be named. Jewish conuuuiiilics are known to exist in l(j cities and towns of the state. Central and Southwestern States Of these but a liai-c miiilioM ciiri In- made here. Missouri: For a year previous to the admission of ^Missouri into the Uiiion as a state, the territory was inhabited by Jews, a family by the uanu' of Bloch tal)li'ihineiit
Chicago.
in IMil.
liavinj; settled there in ISIG. The tirst reliirious set vices
were held in St. Louis and in 1S37 a consrreiration was established. St. Louis and Kansas City now have very considerable Jewish comnnnnties, and smaller ones e.ist in f< oilier towns in the slate. Tennessee: There are Jewish communities in Nashville, Knoxville, and other towns.
- I(iii])liis.
in 1S3G,
Minnesota: The tirst congrepition in Minnesota was established at Si. I'aul in iy.")(>, whieh now has a considerabh^ communiiy. as has also Jlinneaiiolis; Didulh raiiUin.iT third. Milwaukee has also a large tirst congregation having been eslablished in IS.Ti. It has now no less than 5 congregations; and there are congregations in K! other towns of the slate of Wisconsin. Iowa The oldest congregation in Iowa is that of Keokuk, foimded in l»fiii. "The largest congrega-
Jewish comnuiiiily, the
tion is in Oes Jloines; and Jews now live in 1 1 towns in the state, though in small numbers and greatly scattered. Kansas : The earliest congregation scorns to have been that of lA'avenswor^h. founded in 18G0. Eight towns now liave Jewish communities.
Nebraska: The first Jewish congregation was founded about IMTO in Omaha, which now has a There are also congregaconsiderable community. tions at Lincoln and several smaller towns throughout the state. Jews went to the Pacific coast in California large numlierson the announeemenlof the discovery of gold in 1S4!); and as early as 1S.")(I two congregaThe tions had been established "in San Francisco. community grew with great rapidity: and it differed somewhat from the other Jewisli communities
the United States at that time, in that while the population to the eastern part of the United States were from Germany. California received (piotas from England. France, and Holland as well. Sacramento, Los Angehs. and many other towns have congregations: but the bulk of the Jews There are at least in the state are in San Francisco. 11 congregations in this city, a hospital, an orphan asylum, and manj' other organizations. As a result of"this movement toward the Far West, settlements in
sole additions of
have been made in filher states. Other States and Territories Jews were in Oregon as early as 18.50, and in the city of Portland a congregation was founded in 18.58. At Salt Lake City a congregation was established in 1881 but it is asserted that Jews went there
much
Lol'EDlA earlier
>00
and furnished a few converts
to Jlor-
inonism. its principal community in Denver, congregation there having heen estab1874. "a National Home for Coiisumi)livcs
Colorado has till'
earliest
lished in
was opened in that city in 189!). There are communities in 7 other towns of the state. The great wave of Kussian iniiiiignilion has al>o pushed westward. Montana, Washington, and North and South Dakota now havei migngaiion-.. It may lie conlidenlly asserled that, in spile of llie a|ipari'iit
congestion on the eastern sealioard.
Ilieie i-
the I'nion whieh at the present writing lliol) is without a Jewish community. Indeed, this statement may be exiended to include the distant territories recently brought under the jurisdiction of the United Slates: since there are already congregalions in I'orlo Kico. in the Hawaiian Islands, and in the Philijiiiines. Canada: Aaron Hurl, burn in London. Englaial. 17'J4. who was in the British army about 17t)0. seems In to have lieen ihe first Jewish settler in Canada. that <lecade a dozen or more men of means settled in Jlontrcal: and in 17()8 they formed a congregaIn tion which took the name of "Shearilh Israel." 1807 the ((Uestion of the ])olitieal slatus of the Jew was raised by tli<' election of Ezekiel Hurl as a memKefusingto take the oath on ber of the legislature. Ihe faith of a Christian, he was allowed by the clerk to tiike it in the Jewish form and with head covered; but, after an exciting debate, his seat was declared vacant and the election null. He was reelected by a heavy majority, but was again iirevenled from
no state or territory
in
(
taking his seat; and a bill was brought in to disqualify Jews for seals in Ihe House of Assembly. The i;oeriior-treiieral on Political Status May 1.5, 'iSOi), highly disjileased with Ihe legislature, dissolved the House; it was not until 1831 that alllhe It is a disqualilieatious of Jews were removed. noteworthy fact that Canada extended full ])olitical rights to .lews more than u quarter of a century liefore the mother-eounlry. The first regular minister of the ^lontreal synagogue was J. H. Cohen, who settled in ^Montreal about 1778. The most distinguished minister of the congregation was Abraham de Sola, who held olliee from 1S41J to 1S,S'>, and was a well-known author and professor of Helirew in McGill University. German congregation was established there in IMfi. and a Reform congregation in 1880. Since 18!M> a large number of Russian Jews have immigratecl to Canada, many of whom have engaged in agricul.lews are also settled in Toronto, in tural |iursuits. Halifax (Nova Scotia), in Victoria. AVinnipeg, and in various poiliniis of .Manitoba. Waves of Immigration: All the great nations of historic times have been composed of immigrants. I'ressiue of population, the nomadic or seafaring s]iint, the desire for adventure, for eoni|uest. or for commerce, the tyranny of governmenis or of churches, have all contributed to urn the human ra<-e into a vast migratory species, more ca]iable of
of Jews.
and
A
I
adaptability as it is to new environment, llian any In the birth of intense national other formof life. feeling following upon the cstablishmi-nt of the German empire, the fact has frequently been lost sight of that none of the peoples now inhabiting any great slate is indigenous. The expiilsicai of the .lews from Spain, and later from Portugal, and the activity of the Inquisition against the "secret Jews, called JIaranos, in those countries, coupled with the circumstance that these two peoples were the principal explorers and colon-
